The Ten Most Influential Cryptocurrency Journalists in London

Wednesday 7th February 2018

As a subject, cryptocurrencies can be kind of hard to follow. They’re like those Marvel superhero films: every time you think you’re up to speed, people start talking about the new Asbestos Man movie or whatever. For example: Dogecoin – a cryptocurrency with a dog on it that hasn’t had a software update in two years, in the words of its creator – rose above $2bn in value earlier this year.

Anything can happen, and anything frequently does: surges, crashes, radical new ICOs that surge right before they crash. If you want to stay ahead of the market, you need to pay close attention.

So who do you pay attention to?

It’s a dynamic and evolving field, and as it continues to change, so too will the way it’s analysed, reported, and understood. If you’re interested in the subject, or simply looking for someone to pitch, we’ve found these ten journalists are some of the most followed, most shared, and most influential figures writing on cryptocurrencies.

Late of CoinDesk and currently serving as technology reporter for Quartz, much of Joon Ian Wong’s work focuses on digital currencies. His knowledge and coverage of the subject is both broad and deep – meaning you get stories about general market movements AND slightly more niche material about cartoon kitties ruining the blockchain. If you want to know what’s going on in the charted and uncharted parts of the crypto-map, he’s your guy.

Her work on LinkedIn’s news platform may have taken her off the full-time crypto beat, but ignore Emily Spaven’s work at your peril. With experience as the inaugural managing editor of CoinDesk, she has expertise to burn – and has been (and remains) a lively, active voice in the cryptocurrency community for years.

If you have even the most perfunctory interest in market movements, you should probably be aware of the FT’s Izabella Kaminska and Alphaville. The same applies to her work on cryptocurrency.

With a discerning, sceptical eye, Kaminska’s work for the paper has taken on everything from the viability of crypto as a payment mechanism to its potential environmental costs. As painful as it is necessary, her reporting and commentary is nonetheless essential reading for cryptocurrency enthusiasts.

Throughout 2017, This is Money’s Lee Boyce served as a prolific voice in cryptocurrency media. As the site’s Consumer Affairs editor, he has covered Bitcoin’s general market movements, highlighted little-known altcoins, and made efforts to get the man-on-the-street perspective on a phenomenon that has – for a long time – been the exclusive domain of speculators and tech nerds.

A technology correspondent with experience in video, Arjun Kharpal is a vital, versatile, and energetic voice in crypto media. Though his appearances on Tech Transformers and Squawk Box Europe emphasise the accessible side of digital currencies, they’re belied by serious expertise.

Writing for the Daily Express, David Dawkins provides up-to-the-minute crypto coverage across a number of platforms and markets. Come for the loud headlines and excitable action verbs – stay for the serious reporting, the quality interviews, and the detailed deep dives.

As a general rule, BBC correspondents own their subject area. If you’re interested in football, you should follow Phil McNulty; if you’re interested in film, you should follow Mark Kermode; and if you’re interested in technology, you should follow Rory Cellan-Jones. When it comes to digital money, his coverage is long-standing and wide-ranging – with stories following the ongoing search for Satoshi Nakamoto, his own self-professed ‘Bitcoin bunglings’, and the 2017 crypto ‘gold rush’.